Venus Williams also wants to be a fashion designer, Natalie Gulbis tried to be a television star, Lisa Leslie retired to be a mom.

Ladies, where’s the dedication?

Now comes word of another promising young female who isn’t content just to pursue a career as an elite runner.

She wants to be a model, too.

“She is a little poser,” Scotty Bonasera says. “She sits with her little leg pirouetted, like a ballerina dancer. She’s a little princess.”

A potential champion athlete, a possible world-class sprinter and she also wants to be a model? Absurd! Even more ludicrous, this chick is a dog.

A 21/2-year-old dachshund, to be precise.

Her name is Lola and, since we’re writing about athletes who stand 6 inches tall and have long noses and Alpo breath, it must be time once again for the big wiener dog races.

Has it been a year already? Doesn’t seem like it, unless you’re competing Saturday night at Los Alamitos Race Course. In that case, you’re a dog, too, and it must seem like it has been seven years.

The 17th annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals will be contested at the track when the horses aren’t busy mucking up the main event. This is a big deal. Los Al is even offering VIP packages that include a buffet dinner.

For the record and to prove we’re still practicing serious, community-oriented journalism here, proceeds from the races benefit the Seal Beach Animal Care Center.

Lola, a Wiener Nationals rookie, is known around the sport as “The Brown Rocket.” OK, so technically, her nickname is known only around the house, but this dog is so darn lovable we just have to tout her and her chances.

“She loves everybody for some reason,” Bonasera says. “For a little dog, she’s got quite a big attitude on her. She has a great temperament, not a mean bone in her body. She never even barks. It’s pretty unbelievable, especially for a little dog.”

Lola’s name comes from a movie called “Run Lola Run,” and thank goodness the person who wrote the screenplay didn’t call it “Sit Lola Sit.” She began racing at Old World Village in Huntington Beach during Oktoberfest, another annual event, one that celebrates two great German traditions — Dachshunds tail waggin’ and patrons suds swillin’.

In her first event, Lola finished seventh out of nearly 50 dogs.

“We said, ‘She likes to run. Let’s keep doing this,'” Bonasera explains. “Turned out it was a lot of fun for us, too, not just the dogs. It’s pretty much just hanging out, drinking beers and racing your dog. What better way to spend a Sunday?”

Hanging out, drinking beers and watching others work up a thirst? That is tough to beat.

Lola recently finished third during the races at the OC Pet Expo. Bonasera says she took to racing like a dog generally takes to a bone — aggressively and without prodding.

“Now, it’s almost funny,” he says “She really gets into it. She waits at the line, her butt’s wiggling. The door opens and she takes off like a little rocket.”

You’ve heard Lola’s story, so how about Bonasera’s? He’s single with a girlfriend, 30 years old, has a job in commercial office sales and interior design, lives with four roommates in Newport Beach … and owns a dog small enough to fit inside a standard mailbox.

We’re just guessing here, but Bonasera probably has taken just a small amount abuse from his other single, male friends.

When he recently posted on his Facebook wall that Lola had been accepted to compete in the Nationals, Bonasera later returned to find that a friend had commented.

Of all the things to get involved with, how in the (world) did you get involved in that?

“Yeah, I’ve gotten lots of (guff) from my friends,” Bonasera confirms. “But as soon as they see her and meet her, all that stuff goes out the window. Once they meet her, they understand she’s not just this little yipping dog like a Chihuahua or something.”

Besides a plus personality, Lola also has done some modeling, remember? What single guy isn’t interested in meeting a model, even a four-legged one?

Lola has worked with Vanessa Honda Photography, doing photo shoots for veterinarian ads and also sitting in with children and families for sessions. It is a significant skill for a dog, the ability to not only follow the command sit but also the implied order to sitstill.

Though her interests are divided on and off the track, Lola’s focus apparently rarely is. Bonasera says he doesn’t even have to put her on a leash at the races.

“She doesn’t get distracted by the other dogs running around and barking,” he says. “She thinks she’s a person more than a dog, I think. She’d rather hang out with the people than the dogs, that’s for sure.”

On Saturday, Lola will have the chance to do both, this woman athlete trying to prove she can, at the same time, star in photo finishes and photo shoots.

Jeff Miller has been a sports columnist since 1998, having previously written for the Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald. He began at the Register in 1995 as beat writer for the Angels.

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